The prospect of a new grocery store coming to North Minneapolis should be a welcomed one with the large geographic region currently being served by just one full service grocer for some 60,000 or so residents; but even before the store opens there are questions as to if it can be sustained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s because the new store set to open late this year at the corners of Penn Avenue and Golden Valley Road inside the newly constructed Commons at Penn is a cooperative grocer, Wirth Cooperative Grocery. And while the Commons has 45 apartment units, which should provide ready traffic, the question still remains will others in the neighborhood support the grocery store where the prices will in some instances be higher than the area chain store. Those who pushed for the store to come to a currently barren region and who are committed to the store\u2019s success say residents will support Wirth because Wirth will in turn be supporting the neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor eight years we\u2019ve been talking about food and food justice using the cooperative principle as a guideline. People have been excited since the first pop-up co-op in the Harrison Neighborhood,\u201d said Candy Bakion, board chair of the Wirth Cooperative. \u201cWe\u2019ve got 650 members. People are interested in this dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a cooperative, anyone is welcome to shop at Wirth, but the cooperatives are member based, with Wirth\u2019s membership at a one-time fee of $100. Members then have \u201cownership\u201d or a share of the co-op and are entitled to various discountsat Wirth Co-op Grocery and other participating Twin Cities grocery co-ops, along with regular coupon mailers. Members can also vote or run for board seats. Recognizing that a $100 fee may be a burden to some who are already under financial constraints, Wirth offers a $15 buy-in for those receiving WIC, SNAP, Minnesota Care, Minnesota Medical Assistance or Social Security Disability Insurance. The remaining $85 would be earned through future owner equity patronage refunds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All that may be a lot to take in for someone intent on just buying some milk, tomatoes and strawberries. That\u2019s why one advocate said the success of Wirth depends on how people identify with the store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople have Target and Wal-Mart and others you\u2019re competing with, so that food (at Wirth) has to have a better story than any other thing out there,\u201d said LaDonna Sanders-Redmond from Seward Cooperative, diversity and community outreach manager for Seward Community Co-op. \u201c(You\u2019ve got to get people saying things like) \u2018Kristel works there and she has kids and I\u2019m going to support her.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanders-Redmond was referring to Kristel Porter who is a board member of the forthcoming co-op. In addition to Porter\u2019s connection to Wirth, the store plans to hire from within North Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanders-Redmond said it is with good reason the food may be priced higher than at a chain store. Quite simply, she said the quality of the product is superior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With most co-op grocers, the meats, dairies and produce are locally \u2013 or close to locally \u2013 sourced and are almost always organic \u2013 free of artificial food additives, non-genetically modified and grown without the use of syntheticpesticides. These foods are widely accepted as being better for human consumption and oftentimes are said to taste better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In getting people to buy into organic consumption Bakion said they are marketing by using the accepted vernacular of the surrounding neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI said in a board meeting we\u2019re not going to call it organic, we\u2019ll call it \u2018O.G.,\u2019\u201d said Bakion. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get creative in telling this story and getting buy-in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have to get politicized about this; about buying food at a higher price. That\u2019s a huge piece of the conversation,\u201d said Sanders-Redmond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raynardo Williams, store manager of the Friendship site of Seward Community Co-op, said he is using nontraditional techniques to bring attention to his store. He said he has hosted seminars for African-American women on natural hair care and cooking classes to bring in traffic \u2013 traffic that often buys while there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to understand what it is that your community wants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n